The remaining two wolves charged straight at him.
Two from above, two from below.
He targeted the closest one first.
The nearest was the left of the two leaping wolves.
He ducked to dodge its attack, then blocked the one lunging from below with his shield.
45% of the impact was absorbed by the shield, softening the blow.
Twisting his waist, he slashed at the head of the second leaping wolf, which arrived a beat later.
đĽ CRITICAL HIT! đĽ
-88 Damage
His current attack power was 49.
A critical should have dealt 98 damage, but factoring in the wolf's defense, 88 was about right.
From hunting them several times, he knew a wolf's health was roughly around 200.
Even without a critical, five hits would kill one.
Of course, landing five clean hits wasn't easy.
Wolves weren't idiots; they wouldn't just shove their bodies forward blindly.
â SYSTEM NOTIFICATION â
Attacked by Wolf
HP -21
HP -23
Holograms popped up in front of his eyes.
Annoying.
Information block.
No more text appeared.
The wolves kept attacking, but with his high HP and defense, he could hold out.
The priority was finishing off the damaged one.
He lunged at it, thrusting his sword again.
Then he shoved away the wolf trying to bite his side with his shield.
Using the recoil, he closed in on the retreating wolf and slashed repeatedly.
Another critical, maybe?
Three strikes finished it off.
As it turned gray, he rolled across the ground in a hurry.
He took a few more hits from the wolves, then leaned back against the tree.
Hunching quickly, he thrust out his shield to block their assaults.
"Hoo..."
Impacts rippled through the shield in waves.
Krwarrr!
A wolf clamped onto the shield and whipped its head wildly.
Another rammed its body into the shield.
And one more swung its front paw ferociously.
He checked his remaining HP first.
296.
Plenty of room.
Thud!
Another body-slam from one.
As it pulled back for another ram, he hurled his shield hard to the right.
The wolf biting it flew through the air.
One airborne, one retreating for a ram.
Just the frontal one left.
He thrust his sword at it.
The pierced wolf howled and staggered back.
Mu-hyuk pursued swiftly.
This pulled him from the tree, and the other two wolves seized the opening, flanking his back.
They kicked off the ground, leaping to maul his exposed back wildly.
It was just minor pain anyway, and his HP was ample, so he ignored it.
Sword thrust again.
Yelp!
A few more slashes downed the frontal wolf. He spun around.
The remaining two backed off warily, creating distance.
His HP sat around 260.
Done.
Victory was sealed.
*
Finishing the last wolf triggered a level up.
⨠LEVEL UP! ⨠9 â 10
1st Job Change Available
A smile crept across Mu-hyuk's lips.
Finally...!
He stowed the wolf fangs in his inventory and hurried out.
About 20 minutes later, he escaped the wolf forest.
First things first: job change.
Ten more minutes brought the city gates into view.
Through them to the plaza, Mu-hyuk veered right, then left into a narrow alley.
At its end stood the Black Mage Guild, aiding job changes.
He pushed open the door. A woman at the center greeted him.
"Welcome. What brings you here?"
"Job change."
"That's handled on the second floor. Use the warp zone and think '2'."
"Got it."
He nodded lightly and stepped onto the warp zone.
Thinking 2, light enveloped him.
When it faded, he was on the second floor.
A middle-aged man at a desk, reviewing papers, caught his eye first.
The man looked up.
"An outsider. Here for a job change?"
"Yes."
"Once you step down this path, no turning back. Choose wisely."
"My resolve is firm."
The man smiled.
"I like that determination. Come closer. Let's see if you're worthy of a class."
Mu-hyuk approached and stopped before him.
The man raised his hand.
Whoosh.
Light wrapped around Mu-hyuk.
"Hmm..."
The man's expression turned peculiar.
"Black mages need sharp minds. But your physical talents outshine that. Doesn't mean you can't become one. I can balance your aptitudes. But first, pass my trial. What say you? Take the test? You can job change without it, but no balancing from me."
This was another piece of Illusion's hidden info.
At level 10, eligible for first job change, if you'd invested in non-primary stats for your desired class, the instructor offered a special quest.
Clearing it granted bonus stats.
This secret wouldn't surface for half a year.
Why? Any sane playerâuser or notâpoured points into their class's main stat.
What fool wizard pumps strength, agility, vitality?
Warrior dumping into knowledge, wisdom?
In Illusion, where level 1 gave just one bonus point, every stat mattered.
Wasting them was madness.
But Mu-hyuk had done it.
Because he knew.
The quest was coming.
And what it entailed.
"So? The trial?"
đ NEW QUEST đ
For Job Change
đ Defeat wolves and bring back fangs (0/10)
đ Success: Bonus Stats
Accept Quest?
Mu-hyuk nodded.
"I'll take the trial."
Quest accepted. Clear condition metâmessage popped up.
He'd farmed over 20 fangs hunting wolves.
Grinning, Mu-hyuk left the Black Mage Guild.
Five seconds later, he reentered.
"Eh? Back already?"
"Yeah."
Ignoring the receptionist, he warped up.
The middle-aged man tilted his head.
"Why return?"
"Got the fangs."
"Fangs?"
"Yes."
"Didn't you just leave?"
Mu-hyuk just smiled.
"Ahem. Let's check."
He handed over 10 wolf fangs.
The man nodded, inspecting their distinct shape.
"These'll do."
"Trial passed?"
"Of course."
The man stood abruptly, placing a hand on Mu-hyuk's shoulder.
"Close your eyes."
"Yes."
Silence fell. A strange energy emanated from the man, swirling around Mu-hyuk.
It grew, filling half the room, then absorbed into him.
⨠1ST JOB CHANGE COMPLETE! â¨
Knowledge +3
Wisdom +3
Bonus: Knowledge +2, Wisdom +2
The man withdrew his hand.
"Whew. Done."
"Thank you."
Standard job change gave +3 Knowledge and Wisdom each.
But exploiting the hidden info, Mu-hyuk scored +5 each.
One future secret netted him a 4-stat lead over others.
Even when revealed in half a year, top rankers wouldn't care.
Couldn't revert to level 10.
"Now, choose your skills."
"Yes."
"Third floor."
Mu-hyuk bowed and headed up.
There, he got the rundown.
"Black mage paths split a few ways: support mage, attack mage, necromancer. Pick one to learn skills. Which path?"
"Necromancer."
"No regrets?"
"None."
"Fine. Here's what a necromancer like you can learn now. Picking any locks you from curse or attack mage paths. Greater potential might let sub-skills later, but not for you. Choose carefully."
Mu-hyuk eyed the window.
⥠BLACK MAGE - NECROMANCER PATH âĄ
Skeleton Summon
Zombie Summon
That was it.
Smiling, Mu-hyuk selected both.
"Skeleton Summon and Zombie Summon?"
"Yes."
"5 silver."
Paid up, got two summon tomes.
Opening them, text flowed from the pages into his mind.
⥠SKILL ACQUIRED âĄ
Skeleton Summon Tome Mastered
Zombie Summon Tome Mastered
He checked his skill window right away.